Chapter 6: The Scourge

This time, Lu Qingshan did not refuse.

Before Lu Yan began practicing boxing, his archery skills had already reached an exceptional level, fully qualifying him to accompany him into the mountains. At the same time, Lu Qingshan understood that after starting martial training, Lu Yan’s appetite would greatly increase. Hunting alone would no longer suffice to provide the necessary food for Lu Yan’s cultivation, and would only delay his progress.

Working together would undoubtedly yield much greater efficiency.

Lu Yan, carrying his hunting bow, plunged into the Wo Niu Mountain alongside Lu Qingshan.

The outskirts of Wo Niu Mountain had long been thoroughly scoured; wild vegetables and fruits were scarce, and animals were few and far between. Thus, they did not linger, but pressed deeper toward the inner regions.

Lu Qingshan divided Wo Niu Mountain into three areas: the outskirts, the inner region, and the deep mountains.

The outskirts contained only small animals, now almost nonexistent. The inner region had more small game, and occasionally a large predator would appear. The deep mountains, however, were the realm of large beasts—ordinary people dared not venture there.

Lu Qingshan usually hunted in the inner region. He had entered the deep mountains only once; though he had bagged a roe deer, he had also been wounded himself.

On the way, Lu Qingshan taught Lu Yan some skills in setting traps and tracking prey.

Soon, they entered the inner region.

“Father, there’s a wild rabbit ahead,” Lu Yan whispered.

“Keep your voice down, Yan’er. You stay here in ambush, I’ll circle around to block the other side,” Lu Qingshan replied. He held his breath, crouched low, and quietly moved to the far side, drawing an arrow and nocking it to his bowstring.

Whoosh!

The arrow sliced through the air, but the rabbit was extremely alert. The moment the arrow left the bow, as if sensing danger, it bolted, causing Lu Qingshan’s shot to miss.

In these mountains, only the fittest survive. Animals that grew up in the forest were all highly alert and keenly aware of danger.

However, Lu Qingshan had already anticipated the rabbit’s escape route; the frightened animal fled directly toward Lu Yan’s hiding spot.

Lu Yan was ready. As the rabbit drew near, he loosed his arrow—lightning fast—striking the rabbit squarely in the belly.

The rabbit thrashed, then lay still.

“Yan’er, your archery seems to have improved again,” Lu Qingshan said, picking up the rabbit with a smile.

This was the benefit of working together. Usually, if Lu Qingshan missed his shot, the prey would escape, rarely to be caught again. With two people, they could surround and hunt much more efficiently—several times over.

“It has improved somewhat,” Lu Yan replied with a smile.

“Let’s bury this rabbit first,” Lu Qingshan said. He took out a small hoe—originally for digging wild yams—dug a pit, buried the rabbit covered with leaves, and marked the spot.

Carrying fresh game while hunting was unwise; the scent of blood could attract large predators or alarm other small animals.

They continued their hunt.

An hour later, working together, they brought down a yellow sheep weighing over thirty jin.

“Yan’er, you’re really lucky. First time hunting and you bag a yellow sheep!” Lu Qingshan beamed.

In truth, it wasn’t just luck. When hunting alone, he had often encountered yellow sheep, deer, and roe, but these animals were so wary that he had no chance to draw his bow before they sensed danger and fled.

Lu Yan also smiled. With this meat, his cultivation would progress rapidly.

After another hour with no further gains, they gathered a large bundle of dry firewood, tied the yellow sheep in the middle, retrieved the buried rabbit, and returned to Kao Shan Village.

At noon, Lu Yan ate three jin of meat, then immediately went to the bamboo grove to practice boxing.

From then on, every morning, Lu Yan would hunt in the mountains with Lu Qingshan, and in the afternoon, he would practice boxing to build his strength and temper his body.

With Lu Yan’s help, their hunting efficiency soared. Though they couldn’t guarantee a yellow sheep or roe deer every day, there was always some small game, ensuring Lu Yan a daily average of five jin of meat.

As their meat reserves grew, Wang Cui and Lu Qingshan also began to allow themselves a little more to eat.

The benefits of strengthening his martial skills finally began to show.

With ample meat, Lu Yan’s progress was swift—not only in his boxing techniques, but also in accumulating vital energy and blood.

According to Lu Qingshan, only when his body was overflowing with energy could he sense the “sealed gate” by exerting himself fully. Breaking through this gate would make him a limit-breaking martial artist, greatly enhancing his strength.

So, another month passed.

By then, it had been over a hundred days since Lu Yan had begun practicing boxing—one hundred and five days, to be exact.

Iron Thread Fist had surpassed mere mastery and reached the pinnacle.

One hundred and five days to attain the pinnacle in a third-rate martial art—if word got out, it would be unbelievable.

Ordinary people would need thirty years of hard work to reach such a level in a third-rate martial art.

In the bamboo grove, Lu Yan ceaselessly practiced Iron Thread Fist. As his fists swung, the air howled. Black lines circled his fists and forearms, distinct and clear, as if his hands were wrapped in iron threads.

This made his palms and arms exceedingly hard.

Sweat poured from his body, his skin flushed red as if blood would seep out, and a faint red mist rose from his skin.

After an hour, he finished his practice; the redness faded, his skin returned to normal, and the black lines on his hands and arms vanished.

“At this rate, I must be close to overflowing with energy and blood,” Lu Yan murmured, satisfied with his progress.

This meant he was nearing his first limit-breaking.

Lu Qingshan had said that Wu Chaofeng was at this level.

“The Dao Book truly is a peerless treasure.”

Although the Dao Book could not directly boost his energy or cultivation, it greatly accelerated his mastery of martial techniques.

As his martial skills improved, he could open more meridians, which in turn quickened the accumulation of energy and blood, speeding up cultivation.

This was, in effect, an indirect improvement in his strength.

An ordinary person, even with plenty of meat, would need at least three years to reach the threshold of overflowing energy and blood and approach a limit-breaking.

He had done it in just one hundred and five days.

His progress in martial technique was hundreds of times faster than others, and his cultivation speed was at least ten times faster as well.

Moreover, if he continued to advance his martial skills—reaching the level of “supernatural mastery” or even “unity of man and martial”—he would open even more meridians and cultivate even faster.

“It shouldn’t be long before I can truly fill my veins with energy and blood, and attempt to break through the ‘sealed gate’.”

Lu Yan was elated. After a brief rest, he practiced Iron Thread Fist again before returning home.

As the sun set and night descended, Lu Qingshan came back carrying a bundle of firewood, excitement plain on his face.

“Husband, what’s got you so happy?” Wang Cui immediately noticed.

“Look at this!” Lu Qingshan untied the firewood, revealing a large pig leg—at least thirty jin by the look of it.

“A wild boar leg? Father, you caught a wild boar?” Lu Yan asked.

“That’s right. Good luck today—I bagged a huge wild boar, must be at least three hundred jin. It was too heavy to drag back, so I buried it in a big pit and brought just a leg home. When it’s dark, I’ll go back and cut up the rest,” Lu Qingshan replied.

“Father, I’ll go with you,” Lu Yan said.

After dark, large beasts would emerge from the deep mountains. Lu Qingshan venturing alone was worrisome.

“Alright,” Lu Qingshan agreed after a moment’s thought.

Why not bring it back during the day? Such a huge wild boar would attract too much attention. If someone like Wu Chaofeng saw it, there’s no telling what trouble might ensue.

Better to be cautious.

After dinner, with the sky fully dark, Lu Qingshan and Lu Yan quietly left the village, entered Wo Niu Mountain, and found the spot where the wild boar was buried.

They dug it up, used a machete to quarter the boar—over sixty jin per piece. Each carried one chunk home, buried the remaining two, and quickly returned.

After dropping off the meat, they went back again.

Roars of wild beasts echoed through the forest, chilling the air.

Holding their breath, they moved quietly, retrieved the last two pieces, and hurried home, luckily avoiding any encounters with predators.

Wang Cui had been anxiously waiting; seeing them return, she relaxed at last and busied herself cleaning and seasoning the boar meat with aniseed and pepper.

That night, she cooked a large plate of wild boar, and the family feasted heartily.

The next day, on Lu Yan’s suggestion, he was allotted three jin of meat per meal. After eating his fill, he would head to the bamboo grove to practice, preparing to break through the “sealed gate.”

With ample meat, Lu Qingshan no longer needed to hunt for the next few days and stayed home to help Wang Cui in the fields.

Three days later.

After lunch, as Lu Yan was heading to the bamboo grove to practice, he passed a house where a crowd had gathered at the door, and the sound of bitter weeping came from within.

“What happened?” Lu Yan asked.

“Ah, it’s all because of Wu Chaofeng and those ruffians Li Shi and Li Mu. They do nothing all day but bully others, seizing grain from families. A few days ago they targeted Da Gang’s home, tried to take their potatoes. Da Gang resisted and was beaten badly. Without money to see a doctor, he died today,” a burly man replied through gritted teeth.

“Hush, keep your voice down. If Wu Chaofeng hears you, you’ll be in trouble,” an elderly woman warned, glancing nervously around.

“What’s to fear? Those troublemakers will get what’s coming to them sooner or later,” the burly man insisted.

“Poor Da Gang’s widow. Now she’s alone with two children, and with her food taken, how will she survive?” someone else sighed. “Heaven help us.”

Others could only sigh in sympathy, but none could spare their own grain to help Da Gang’s widow.

“Doesn’t the Liu clan care?” Lu Yan asked.

“Wu Chaofeng didn’t kill anyone outright, just injured them. The clan elders have no time to bother,” an old man sighed.

Lu Yan fell silent, his face cold, as he made a quiet decision in his heart. He strode away toward the edge of the village, only to encounter three familiar figures.

It was Wu Chaofeng, Li Mu, and Li Shi.

The three lounged idly in the sun at the village entrance. When they saw Lu Yan, their eyes roved over him.

He ignored them, heading straight for the bamboo grove to practice.

“That Lu Yan kid sure has grown strong. A few months ago he was a sickly wretch,” Li Mu remarked.

“His father, Lu Qingshan, is a seasoned hunter—always bringing home game. That brat must have eaten a lot of meat to grow so fast. Damn, we never get any meat. It’s not fair. Brother Feng, maybe we should...” Li Shi looked meaningfully at Wu Chaofeng.

Wu Chaofeng licked his lips. “Li Mu, go keep an eye on the Lu family’s house. When Lu Qingshan and his wife go out to work, sneak in and see if there’s any meat.”

“Leave it to me,” Li Mu replied eagerly.